Transporting crate for luminous tubes or other fragile articles



Oct. 16,1928. 1,687,630

R. J. McRAE TRANSPORTING CRATE FOR LUIINOUS TUBES OR OTHER FRAGILE ARTICLES Filed July 11, 1927 INVENTOR. flamw BY ATTORNEY Patented o... 16,119 28.

1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF-ICE.

RANDOLPH J'. MCRAE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T0 CHARLES V. 1 303, OF NEW YORK,

TRANSPORTITTG CRATE E018, LUMINOUS Application filed July 11,

My invention has been designed to provide an improved crate for the transportation of luminous tubes, but it may obviously be employed for shipping other fragile articles of the same character. The luminous tubes in question are long glass tubes usually employed for signs and bent Into the form of letters or symbols. They contain a rarefied, gas or vapor which becomes luminescent upon the passage of anelectrlc current through the same. Since there is a substantial energy loss at the electrodes, in order to secure efficiency it is important to make the so-called luminous positive column of substantial length. Usually the tubes are about twelve feet long, more or less.

In manufacturing the luminous tubes it IS important that they shouldbe carefully processed, and their manufacture is, therefore, confined to plants of substantial size. It thus becomes necessary to ship the tubes sometimes for considerable distances, and owing to their fragile nature and their expensive character, it is important that the liability of accidental breakage should be reduced to the minimum. I have invented an improved crate which has, been particularly designed for the shipment of these tubes and which has proved in practies to be" very effective.

In order that'the invention may be better understood. attention is directed to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of my crate; 4

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view on the line 22 of Figure l; and

Figure3 is a detail sectional view on an enlarged scale illustrating a. luminous tube in position. In all of the above views corresponding parts are represented by the same numerals.

Myimproved crate comprises an outer structure composed of top and bottom members 1-1 and end members 22 made of boards of suitable thickness and of substantial width held together in any suitable way,

improved Located within the outer structure is a rectangula-r frame 3 secured in place in any suitable way. This frame is provided with U'- bolts 4-4, as shown, and extending through each of said U-bolts is astrap 5 secured to a supporting panel 6. Ordinarily, this panel is provided with metal stiffening portions 7 -7 at its edges.

N. Y.- I

TUBES OR OTHER FRAGILE ARTICLES.

1927. Serial No. 204,733.

Panel 6 is made (if any suitable light material, and I have successfully used, for the purpose, boards of so-called celotex, which I .shown in section in Figure-.3 at 8, it is preferably secured by wires 9 at various points, an

interposed elastic packing 10 being introduced between the tube and the anel 6 at the points where said wires are use A very effective material for this purpose is ordinary sponge rubber;

By supporting a luminous tube upon numerous elastic pads of sponge rubber and carrying said tube upon an elastically supported panel I find thattlie extremely fragile and expensive tubes may be transported with entire safety under ordinary conditions. Preferably the crate is left open, although'if desired it may be enclosed in a suitable covering material or end boards may be-used to entirely enclose the outsidecasing.

It will be observed that should the crate be dropped or receive a sharp impact for any reason in handling, such an impact would not be directly transmitted to the panel 6 which carries the fragile luminous tube. Assume, for example, the whole crate were dropped or set down with considerable force on one corner, for instance, the right hand lower corner of Fig; 1. In this case the flexible straps 5 adjacent to that corner would tend to compress and not until the shock had traveled around the frame 3 for aconsiderable distance and had lost a largerpart of its energy would it have arrived at any of'the members supporting thep'anel 6, and thus be capable of transmitting it to panel 6. this way the improved crate completely guards against these accidental conditions.

Having now described my invention what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows: I,

1. An improved crate for transporting luminous signs or similar articles composed of glass tubing fashionedfinto-words or symbols comprising an outer casing, a frame mounted therein and of substantially l'els width, than the casing, a flat panel v vithin the frame to comprising an outer ,a frame mounted which the luminous sign is secured, and a plu therein and of substantia y less width than rality of elastic straps connecting the panel. the casing, a panel within the frame, a pluto the frame so that the former -will be elasrality of elastic straps connecting the ainel 5 tically'supported to thereby protect the sign to the frame, a luminous sign removab y aecarried by the panel from shocks applied to cured to the panel, and interposed elastic the outer casing. pads or buffers-between the sign and the 2. An improved crate for transporting lupanel. minous signs or similar articles composed of 10 glass tubing fashioned into words or symbols, i I J; MCRAE. 

